How Do I...?

You Are What You Read

Written by Bryce on 11/23/2012

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Here we go:

Abby is currently reading Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Calahan. "This book is an interesting memoir about Cahalan's battle with a mysterious and rare deadly neurological illness that was mistaken for an acute psychiatric breakdown. Susannah was a successful and ambitious reporter for the NY Post when she began to experience paranoia and a loss of contact with reality. The traumatic journey that follows demonstrates the importance of self-advocacy and diligence when pursuing medical treatment. When after a horrifying month Susannah's diagnosis is finally explained as "her brain is on fire", there is hope. While Susannah's illness certainly appeared to be psychiatric in nature, the truth creates a frightening possibility that there are many young women improperly diagnosed who have either passed away from improper treatment, or who may be living in psychiatric hospitals with no chance of potentially lifesaving treatment."

Ann is presently in the middle of Barbara Kingsolver's new book, Flight Behavior. She is enjoying the journey of the main character, Dellarobia Turnbow, the family and people in her home town, the scientists who arrive, and the Monarch butterflies. This is a book about global warming that will impact all the inhabitants of her world and ours.

Barbara is reading The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin, a somewhat irreverent imagining of the end of Jesus’ life as seen through the eyes of his mother. It begins with the gospel writers interrogating Mary for information about her son and then goes back to the events leading up to the crucifixion. The writing is rich and the emphasis is not on religion but on a mother’s love and guilt.

Gretchen is reading Caring for Infants with Respect by Magda Gerber. "Magda Gerber is an infant educator who created REI (Resources for Infant Educarers) which is dedicated to teaching, supporting and mentoring parents and professions who work with young children. Their approach is one that aims to honor the young child as an individual, an equal and to respect the natural integrity of infants. They believe when allowed to discover, struggle, explore on their own, infants can astound us with what they can learn naturally and that with patience and work, we can improve the way we communicate with these pre-verbal children. She recommends simple gestures that show your child that his feelings are important to you starting with something as simple as telling your baby what you are going to do before you do it. The goal is to connect with your infant as a person, not as an object. The methods are all about trust, respect and “do less; observe more; enjoy most.” She is also reading The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate and Christina Castelao.Told from the point of view of the silverback, Ivan, living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, it is a sweet story about change. Ivan is content with his life, hardly misses the jungle at all, until a baby elephant Ruby joins him and it is up to Ivan to make it a change for the better. I want to read all the books that are getting buzz as contenders for the Newbery Award (issued in January) and this is a much discussed book in my online community of librarians and parents!"

Jeanne is reading The Marseille Caper by Peter Mayle. "I am a fan of Mayle and have read several of his books and enjoyed A Year in Provence with John Thaw (also Inspector Morse) on DVD. Very funny, as are his books. In fact, I think The Marseille Caper is too funny to be in the D-M genre. It follows the characters from The Vintage Caper, though you don't have to read them in order. In both books, Sam Levitt is a former corporate lawyer, crime expert, and wine connoisseur from Los Angeles who finds himself in demand for all of these skills. He locates millions of dollars worth of wine in the first book and acts as a "front" for wealthy developers in this recent novel. Sam does this cleverly and with style, all while enjoying the food and wine of the south of France along with his beautiful "accomplice," Elena Morales, the luxury insurance investigator he met while recovering said stolen wine. The books are light and amusing and the reader is treated to a free "tour" of Marseille and Bordeaux as Sam and his friends and enemies sample the region's glorious foods and wines. I also just started Robin Sloan's Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. I decided to read it because I like the title and the cover and the author's bio says, he "grew up in Michigan and now splits his time between San Francisco and the internet." I am looking forward to delving into this unusual bookstore in San Francisco with Clay Jannon, the twenty-something guy who works there on the night shift, 10 - 6. He serves very few, very particular patrons who are looking for very unusual books that can only be found at this 24-hour bookstore.

John states, "I forgot where I saw someone write that a book hangover is time you spend thinking about a book after you've finished it, before you can start another. The Dog Stars has left me with a killer book hangover. I fall in love with a book maybe once every two or three years--the last one was Thread of Grace--and now I have fallen in love with The Dog Stars. That's not something I thought I'd ever say about a book of post-apocalyptic fiction: The Dog Stars takes place nine years after a killer flu wipes out 99.9% of humanity. I won't go in to the plot at all, except to say that it keeps you riveted to the page. It's the writing and the characters that makes this novel great. It's the kindness, compassion, and raw humanity of Hig's inner landscape that takes your breath away. Heller writes with a unique style of stream-of-consciousness that slowly blends in and out of traditional narrative. A lot of people (including myself) have a hard time with stream-of-consciousness, but I had no trouble with this book because of the way it's integrated into the flow of the story. You may know Heller from his time as an NPR contributor, but this is his debut novel and it is a rare gem, something truly special."